(Originally published on CNS News.)
Pushing for Washington D.C. statehood is a popular issue among Democrats. They will say that it’s because the residents deserve representation, and they should be able to govern themselves.
Currently, under the D.C. Home Rule Act, Congress reviews all legislation passed by the city council before it can become law and can block any laws it doesn’t agree with. It also has authority over the city’s budget.
Self-governance is not the reason for the statehood push. Democrats see Washington D.C. as a deep-blue state. It would give them a consistent two more senators and another representative in Congress.
It certainly isn’t that Washingtonians want to govern themselves. This is obvious since the D.C. City Council passed the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act last month. The new law only requires residents to live in the district a month in order to be eligible to vote in city elections. So, someone can come to the city and not even know the candidates or the issues and vote in a local election.
That’s not self-governance. That is being willing to let your local elections be controlled by a large inflow of outsiders.
Now what political group could be large enough to influence an election and have enough people to send to a place like Washington D.C. to live?
Well, another part of the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act is that it does not require citizenship or a lawful presence in the country. In other words, illegal aliens can vote in local elections in Washington D.C.
Even worse, the city might find that foreign diplomats with no love for the United States are voting in local elections, simply because they can.
A city that says it deserves to govern itself is willing to allow people who should not be in this country to sway public policy for citizens who have been born and raised in the city. How is that better than having Congressional oversight of the city’s decisions? At least the senators and representatives are U.S. citizens.
While Washington D.C. isn’t the first city to allow illegal immigrants to vote in local elections, it is the most notable. It is the capital city and known around the world. With this new law, the city’s government has made itself look ridiculous and incompetent on an international stage.
The D.C. City Council, in passing this law, has shown why the city needs Congressional oversight.
The capital city of the United States cannot have illegal immigrants and foreign nationals who hate United States influencing policy in the city.
Sadly, Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act is now law in D.C.
Congress had 30 days to review it and decide whether to block it or not. The House of Representatives pushed to block it, but the Senate let the clock run out without making a decision.
The House is Republican controlled while the Senate is controlled by the Democrats, who believe they will benefit from allowing non-citizens to vote.
By allowing this law to stand, it will become a model for other blue cities and states who want to secure their power in their municipalities, although they have shown they can’t or won’t use that power to make the quality of life better for their citizenry. These places, including Washington D.C., are rampant with crime.
It is a law that needs to be challenged and taken to the Supreme Court for a decision because it involves Constitutional issues that deal with the sovereignty of the United States.
